Mom Gets Public Support After Being Arrested For Leaving Kids At Motel Room While At Work

An Ohio woman's arrest for leaving her children alone in a motel room while she went for work at a local pizza shop, has garnered national attention.

Shaina Bell of Liberty Township was arrested last Thursday on charges of child endangerment after she left her two daughters, aged 10 and 2, in a motel room, reports The Hill.

Her case drew attention online and saw Rep Ruben Gallego, D-AZ, coming out in her support. Gallego tweeted: "Women are damned if they do or damned if they don’t. Stay at home with your kids and receive government assistance and you are a leech, go to work for poverty wages and can’t get consistent sitters and go to jail.”

A GoFundMe page, set up to help her and her children, has raised more than $79,999 so far. The page describes Bell as a single mom to three children who needs “permanent and safe housing.”

People sympathetic to her cause have backed her following the arrest. One donor wrote: "This is a sad story. Arresting single parents in cases like this only furthers the goalpost for them. An arrest can mean a loss of job & income, court fees, time away from work and barriers for future employment. I hope this young lady is able to get on her feet and get housing for her and her children.”

Before she was booked into the county jail on two counts of child endangering, Bell told officers that she usually has someone check in on her children every hour while she is at work. The 10-year-old girl also told police that her mother was at work and would return by 10 a.m. The children were turned over to their father. Bell pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bell's case has prompted calls on social media for universal childcare. According to the National Women's Law Centre, at least 2.3 million women left the labor force by January, many due to closed schools and a lack of childcare. It added that more than 1 in 12 black women aged 20 and over were unemployed in January.